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Monday Morning Politics: Sequestration Backlash

Inside the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
(O Palsson/flickr)

The sequestration cuts are being felt, and Congress is rolling back some of the bill they passed earlier this year. Nancy Cook, economic and fiscal policy correspondent for National Journal, talks about the latest news from Washington, including the congressional response to sequestration-induced flight delays.

Comments [29]

SIMILAR to the caller coming in from London, I've also experienced an incoming flight that came in right over the runway, almost touched down and then suddenly flew back up and circled around a couple more times before landing, but UNLIKE his experience, we were not told that the experience was a "routine safety exercise" , and I doubt that was the true reason for the caller's experience either. I am assuming that announcement was a lie. There is no way an airplane FULL OF PASSENGERS can perform any type of "safety exercise" while in the air. That would be a ridiculous danger to everyone. My guess is that the abort of landing had to do with the pilot receiving a last second communication that the runway was indeed not clear, (which could indeed be related to decrease of personnel in the control tower) or the pilot discovering himself that his/her judgement of space ahead on the runway or angle to the runway was not adequate for safe landing. Lastly, I assume that all the sudden news last week about all the travel delays was a combination of media hype, airlines public relations painting the most annoying picture possible, and airlines ordering their workers to take it slow and err on the side of caution, thus spreading out flights during the first days of the changes.

On a Continental flight from Motego Bay to Newark the pilot interrupted a landing approach, powered up and resumed a series of 'go arounds', for about 15 minutes. He then anounced to the pasengers that the light indicating the landing gear was showing the gear still up. After a number of manuvers designed to shake the gear loose he announced that the instruments indicating landing gear down was still not on. he then did a very close fly by the airport control tower, which reported the gear appeared to be down . We then landed,accompanied by many fire engines and ambulances following us down the runway. No problem landing; just a defective signal relay. At least a few passengers were retching and shaking. I was young and thought it all great fun.

On a Continental flight from Motego Bay to Newark the pilot interrupted a landing approach, powered up and resumed a series of 'go arounds', for about 15 minutes. He then anounced to the pasengers that the light indicating the landing gear was showing the gear still up. After a number of manuvers designed to shake the gear loose he announced that the instruments indicating landing gear down was still not on. he then did a very close fly by the airport control tower, which reported the gear appeared to be down . We then landed,accompanied by many fire engines and ambulances following us down the runway. No problem landing; just a defective signal relay. At least a few passengers were retching and shaking. I was young and thought it all great fun.

On a Continental flight from Motego Bay to Newark the pilot interrupted a landing approach, powered up and resumed a series of 'go arounds', for about 15 minutes. He then anounced to the pasengers that the light indicating the landing gear was showing the gear still up. After a number of manuvers designed to shake the gear loose he announced that the instruments indicating landing gear down was still not on. he then did a very close fly by the airport control tower, which reported the gear appeared to be down . We then landed,accompanied by many fire engines and ambulances following us down the runway. No problem landing; just a defective signal relay. At least a few passengers were retching and shaking. I was young and thought it all great fun.

On a Continental flight from Motego Bay to Newark the pilot interrupted a landing approach, powered up and resumed a series of 'go arounds', for about 15 minutes. He then anounced to the pasengers that the light indicating the landing gear was showing the gear still up. After a number of manuvers designed to shake the gear loose he announced that the instruments indicating landing gear down was still not on. he then did a very close fly by the airport control tower, which reported the gear appeared to be down . We then landed,accompanied by many fire engines and ambulances following us down the runway. No problem landing; just a defective signal relay. At least a few passengers were retching and shaking. I was young and thought it all great fun.

Yes, I have experienced a fight was about to touch ground to land then went right back up high. The pilot announced "the angle was a little too steep" so he was going to re-do it again. It was done in a way I felt safe the whole time.

To RUCB Alum: Was there a chance in hell you'd have voted for anyone from the GOP with our without the sequester? I think this is a "takes two to tango" situaiton. Its not only the GOP. They ALL created this mess. I am not choosing sides on which party is dumber.

FAA has been allowed to shift capital improvements money (maintenance / repair / expansion)to operations and personnel. Short term solution for long term pain. Congress is again pushing the problem down the road to another Congress.

Terribly crowded terminal and multiple delays out of LaGuardia on Thursday eve, total chaos. The return from Houston on Sunday was 100% uneventful, even though it was also a totally full flight.

By the way, I've had a scary near-landing experience at LaGuardia before (not during furloughs). It terrified me. No explanation was given by the captain or crew, as if this were normal. My husband thinks this happens quite a lot due to the short runways at LaGuardia.

The caller who was on a flight the almost landed then took of again experienced what is known as a "go around". These not uncommon occurances happen when there is something out of the ordinary that might preclude a safe landing. There is nothing unsafe about these procedures and are often required when certain conditions for a safe landing are not met. For instance, something on the runway, a vehicle crossing a runway unexpectedly, or the landing plane too far down the runway to assure safe stopping distance, etc.

I was on a plane yesterday from Minn to LGA. We came in over the water ,wheels down,very low and suddenly swooped up,vertical and the pilot announced the manuver was to avaid a 757 crossing our desired path. We went around the tip of manhattan again,another 20 minutes. It was a normal maneuver for a busy airport.

The flight delays were not just hype. I flew out of LaGuardia on Tuesday afternoon, and after we pushed back from the gate, the pilot informed us that we were 22nd in line on the runway. We inched forward slowly for about an hour before we could take off for Chicago. I returned on Saturday and it was smooth sailing all the way.

As for the near miss go around: That happened to me once coming into O'Hare in Chicago. We were just about on the ground, the gear might have even touched down, when they gunned the engins and we took off again. The pilot later got on the intercom and said that we were 30 seconds from another plane on the runway. Which I took to mean 2-3 seconds. This was in 2007, so it DOES happen, even when there's no sequester.

The sequester - which the GOP have been selling as 'no big deal' -- is very much a matter of whose ox is gored. Giving Obama a Hobson's Choice is just more proof of how these miscreants put party over the people.

My anger at the corner we have painted ourselves into with these guys cannot be expressed rationally or politely. They're just c---suckers.

I will remember the filibusters of gun safety legislation. I will remember the hijacking of our democratic principles. I will vote in 2014.

The listener who called in about the scary landing just experienced what we pilots call "the safest maneuver in aviation", a Go Around. If it's not completely safe to land for any number of reasons, the pilot may elect to go around for another attempt.

It's somewhat startling, especially when experienced from the cabin, since the engines go from idle power to full power in seconds, and you would experience the g forces of acceleration and climbing. But there's nothing dangerous about it.

As noted: there are delays every day. I think some of this was industry / media hype. When the standard fare is to push off from the gate and then sit in a line of planes for 40 minutes, how is this so very different?

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